I firmly believe that the main theme of the coming-of-age novel is about how humans, with their natural and barely controllable evil, will come to end the world on their own terms. Towards the end, the naval officer's reaction to the sobbing of the children- when he was "allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser" (page 182) in hopes to separate himself from the said "messy emotions"- made me suspect that the beastly image Golding is imposing on the human being can be found in multiple forms- not simply a few savage boys on an island. It can also be found in the form of a British naval officer in a "white-topped cap, ...a crown, an anchor, and gold foliage" (page 180). I had always believed the idea that wickedness is present in a man's
